FEATURING:
SAM BEECHAM
HANNAH FELDMAN
JACOB GREEN
NATASHA GROSSMAN
ALEX HERSHAM
DOUGLAS JAKOBI
DANIELLA LOFTUS
ASAF NOVAT
Presented by
Never can the range and variety of business activity have ever been so broad as today. The online world has created a secondary universe for communication and commerce that evolves incredibly quickly. Today’s young professionals and entrepreneurs do not just have to be masters of their craft but also masters of communication. The timeline to succeed with a successful new product or idea is ever decreasing, forcing today’s young talent to keep their businesses constantly relevant and exciting as concepts such as brand loyalty are blown away by the need to constantly stimulate and attract both investors and end users/buyers.
It is in this exciting and super stressful market that today’s new business innovators must emerge, and the Jewish Care committee have identified eight outstanding young talents that are showcased in this booklet.
I co-founded Brecher back in 1995 – a very different era and we have enjoyed growing our practice into a market leader over that time as a result of being innovators ourselves within the legal profession. I am sure that the young innovators mentioned in these pages will also go on to achieve great things in their respective fields – indeed they already are. It is a privilege and a pleasure to support Jewish Care and the Topland Group Business Lunch. May they both go on from strength to strength.
Andrew Brecher Senior Partner, Brecher LLP
Sam Beecham has come a long way from starting ripple+ in his parents’ garage alongside his sister Lucie in 2019. Now a tight-knit crew of 16, operating from the company’s HQ in Camden, his plant-powered aromatherapy puffs – a healthy alternative to the e-cigarette epidemic – are stocked in more than 1,200 pharmacies and shops across the world, from Superdrug to John Bell & Croyden. A plant-powered, zeronicotine portable diffuser brand, for Sam, there was only one key aim when they started out: “To help people onto healthier habits!” he says.
If there’s one thing that spurs us on at ripple+, it’s the knowledge that little ideas have the power to gain momentum and create change. As siblings, we’ve always bounced ideas off each other and wanted to do things differently, so starting a business together was a no-brainer. And what better way to start than shaking things up and challenging industry standards.”
As CEO, Sam’s day-to-day role consists of working with their team across the various functions of the business from marketing and operations to sales and branding. “A key focus is to continue to consistently grow our online business in the USA, UK and EU,” he says.
Having studied finance at NYU Stern School of Business, Sam then went on to work in banking and finance for five years which provided “great discipline and training”. In that time, he became “hooked” on e-cigarettes – and that was when the concept and idea of ripple+ was born. “We got into the industry to make a change. We want to prove small ripples make big waves and support people to make better choices.”
I ask how ripple+ is different from a normal e-cigarette. “It contains plantextract and natural aromas which release an aromatic mist to provide all the benefits of aromatherapy,” he explains. “They are designed for adults looking to promote self-care, whereas e-cigarettes are defined as electronic nicotine delivery systems, or ENDS. There is no nicotine in ripple+ diffusers. In fact, all ripple+ diffusers are completely free of nicotine, tobacco, vitamin E acetate, THC, CBD, and any other regulated substance. Each of our custom botanical blends is formulated in state-of-the-art labs based in the UK. We ensure all our ingredients are non-GMO, free of harmful pesticides, and purely natural. What’s more, the temperature of ripple+ diffusers are intentionally kept as low as possible to preserve the plant extract and natural aromas.”
Sam points to legal and regulatory hurdles as the most significant barriers
to growth but says that he has overcome these challenges to make the business what it is today. “Overcoming these obstacles has given our business grit,” he says. Another factor is maintaining quality control at every level. “Keeping quality high exists at every step of our production process. We don’t just check the finished product – quality is integral to everything we do.”
Sam likes to “keep it in the family” and will always turn to his dad, Robert, for business advice. “He has always been my best friend and guide, both personally and when it comes to business,” he says. And if he could sit down with any famous businessman, it would without a doubt be Elon Musk. “Basic, I know, but the level he operates on in terms of time allocation and delegation blows my mind!”
“WE GOT INTO THE INDUSTRY TO MAKE A CHANGE. WE WANT TO PROVE SMALL RIPPLES MAKE BIG WAVES AND SUPPORT PEOPLE TO MAKE BETTER CHOICES.”
While ex-banker and lawyer Hannah Feldman’s activity finder app for parents Kidadl was going strong until March 2020, it was the pandemic that forced its focus to pivot, and in the end, take off with such force that Kidadl.com is now serving millions of international consumers.
HANNAH FELDMAN Kidadl
With three children under the age of 10, Feldman and her business partner Sophie’s initial free-to-use app supported parents in finding stimulating things to do with their children. However, not long into March 2020, Hannah realised that by bombarding their users with ideas for days out would if anything, inspire a mass ‘unsubscribe’. “The focus shifted to providing free resources to help parents educate and entertain their kids”, says Hannah. “The scope broadened, as well as the audience – and with it, so did the possibilities.”
Having spent 18 years in the corporate world, Feldman says she regularly felt like “a square peg in a round hole” in previous roles at Ogilvy, Linklaters, and UBS, as well as director of strategic partnerships for former Dragon’s Den investor James Caan. It wasn’t until she embarked on her own business that she found her fit.
Hannah’s business partner pitched her the idea at a cousin’s hen party – an idea that would change her life as a parent. “And while I knew little about how to build a tech business, I did know the idea would solve a pain point in my own personal life. I immediately said yes.”
But it hasn’t been easy, and Hannah has come up against multiple barriers. “I knew that typically, women only secure less than two per cent of venture capitalist funding, but I was still shocked to find out how hard it really was.” But secure it she
did, and Kidadl.com is serving millions of families across the world. The platform is without a doubt the “highlight” of her 18 plus year career. “You can’t compare the blood, sweat and tears of starting your own business to any corporate job. Our work is supporting the day to day lives of real parents across the world.”
The main revenue for the business comes through e-commerce, partnerships, and advertising, which along with the tech and usability, will be the focus of the business over the coming months. With a global workforce of more than 130, it’s not a 95. “It’s a juggle to manage the day-to-day of a business while always looking to the future. It’s a matter of knowing which of the balls you’re juggling are the glass ones, and not letting those smash. And of balancing setting the vision and strategic
direction of the business with being a day-to-day doer.”
Her advice when starting a business would be to choose a partner based on having different yet complementary skill sets, as well as nurturing a solid network of fellow founders to help share the highs and lows and provide mutual support –plus not quitting the day job too soon. “You need to be prepared to weather the ups and the downs and realise that building a business is a long game that takes you to the end of your comfort zone and far beyond. Focus on your goals and get ready for a wild ride.”
“YOU CAN’T COMPARE THE BLOOD, SWEAT AND TEARS OF STARTING YOUR OWN BUSINESS TO ANY CORPORATE JOB.”
Established in 2020 – with its first full year in 2021 – Hylo is founded on three main objectives: “Running, renewability… and romance!” says Jacob. “Sustainability has become such an overused word, that it doesn’t really explain anything. For us, one of our two main focusses is on renewable materials – finding alternative solutions to the fossil fuels that commonly account for 100 per cent of the base materials used in running shoes and replacing that with a 60-70 per cent renewable base. We are also aiming to reduce waste by encouraging people to send back their shoes to be ground down, reused and reformed. We aim to redefine the future of running.”
Having studied Geography at Cambridge University, Jacob has always been interested in development, conservation, and sustainability – as well as the “romance” of protecting our natural playgrounds (and running tracks), from sprawling cities to beaches and mountains. After a brief stint working for businessmen Julian Metcalfe, CEO of Itsu, and famous food entrepreneur Robert Jakobi, he went on to set up his first successful business, Misfits, producing best-selling vegan protein bars. And while he’s still a key player at Misfits, it’s running Hylo with his partner, the former premier league footballer Michael Doughty, that takes up most of his focus.
Michael has always been “vegan eating and electric car driving”, as well as having a first-hand knowledge of the sports industry, with his role mainly spanning marketing, branding and community building. Jacob focuses on strategy, finance, operations, and people. “For me, it’s about the importance of finding solutions,” he says. Having recruited
With 22 billion pairs of shoes thrown away every year, it can take between 30-40 years for just one pair to decompose. For Jacob Green, 31 – co-founder and MD of renewable running shoe brand Hylo Athletics – this was a problem crying out for a solution.JACOB GREEN
talent from Adidas and Asics, the aim is to be the “next Nike, but with Hylo’s unique founding philosophy.”
With an industry dominated by just a few key players, Jacob is keen to express how important it was to get the product right before bringing it to market. “I learnt from my first business the value in perfecting your product in the early stages, to save money and manpower modifying it later down the line. For Hylo, it was important that we hit the market with a high-quality and unique trainer. If you have a great product, then you have every chance of success – whatever industry it is you’re trying to crack.”
With infinite possible routes for expansion, I ask where he sees the biggest opportunities for investment. “We
need to focus globally on actually creating new alterative materials,” he explains. “Bill Gates is currently pouring millions into coming up with alternative cement solutions, for example. Innovation in this field is imperative for both the future of our business, and the planet.”
While sourcing materials and global supply chains did create their own challenges when launching during a pandemic, Jacob points to people’s mindsets as the biggest barriers he’s come across. “People are quick to write things off when they don’t work right away,” he says. “From designers to producers and retailers, it’s about believing in the product and finding answers to the problems. And knowing that ultimately, it can be done.”
“IF YOU HAVE A GREAT PRODUCT, THEN YOU HAVE EVERY CHANCE OF SUCCESS – WHATEVER INDUSTRY IT IS YOU’RE TRYING TO CRACK.”
Natasha Grossman, 26, only founded her retail-tech startup Slip a year ago, and she’s already thinking about how to scale it globally. “Slip’s mission is to create a global standard for digital receipts and customer data in retail environments,” she explains. “Its key aim is to provide retailers with a true omnichannel view of their customers and provide industry insight into how consumers shop.”
Having studied business at the University of Birmingham, and then pursuing a career in management consulting at KPMG as part of a graduate scheme, she then went on to work for Gate One, where she homed in on her interest for digital transformation. “It was during my time working at Gate One, focusing on innovation, that I decided to take the plunge and pursue my own start-up,” she says.
When she began in 2021, Natasha was mainly focused on solving the customer
gripe of losing paper receipts. But after working closely with retailers, she soon uncovered a far greater problem around tracking omnichannel customer behaviour, which is where she sees the focus of the business heading. “I truly want to make a change in the way we shop,” says Natasha. “The dream is to grow the business over the next five years and to be acquired by a larger company in the fintech or data and analytics space that can scale our product globally.The biggest opportunities for us will come from expanding internationally with our retail partners.”
As the founder and current CEO, she manages everything commercial from marketing and HR to sales and finance. Her biggest career highlight to date would without a doubt be signing her first client – “it was such an exciting moment and real proof of the need for
our product” – although she was gutted when her first employee left the business. “It was really hard at the time, but I learnt so much from the process.”
Natasha has come up against many barriers along the way, both personally and in terms of scaling her business. “Gender diversity in retail and investment is really poor, which has had both personal and business growth impacts on me and Slip,” she explains. “The current economic climate also makes it difficult to fundraise, let alone the fact that I am a female founder. Globally, between one and two per cent of all venture capital funding goes to female-led companies, so I have no doubt that this will add additional pressure and challenges when it comes to scaling the business.”
Natasha cites Sheryl Sandberg as one of her greatest role models, although if she could spend ten minutes with one
businessperson it would be Whitney Wolfe, the founder of Bumble. “I’d ask her what her Northstar metric was in the early days of building the business,” she says.
I ask what she has learnt over the last year, as well as what her advice would be to anyone wanting to follow in her footsteps. “This has been my first business, so every challenge has been taken head-on and I have used them all as learning opportunities,” she says. “I have really learnt to try and not take all business decisions personally, and to always seek advice from people who have ‘been there and done that’. My chairman, Brian, has really impacted the start-up journey so far.”
“My biggest piece of advice would be to network, network, network! The retail industry is very tight knit and knowing the right people is everything.”
“MY BIGGEST PIECE OF ADVICE WOULD BE TO NETWORK, NETWORK, NETWORK!”
Alex Hersham, 36, likes to work hard. So, it’s no surprise that after only six years, almost to the month, the digital freight forwarding company Zencargo that he co-founded with a friend, has flourished – going from just “three guys in a coffee shop”, to 180 people across the UK, Netherlands, USA and China. “I like to work hard,” says Alex. “One of our core values it to ‘learn fast and grow’, and that drives me daily.”
Digital freight forwarders help companies organise the international movement of goods through transportation services, powered by a software platform that provides transparency, simplicity, and improved efficiency. “The key aim of our business is to make our customer supply chain the competitive business advantage of our clients,” Alex explains. “We work with the best brands in the country and have repeatedly won awards for supply chain management. We’re still early in our journey, but by
2030 we hope to have reshaped how international trade works.”
Having studied economics at LSE, Alex worked at Goldman Sachs investing in distressed companies, before joining Cerberus Capital, where he focused on buying and building shipping and transportation businesses. “I completely fell in love with international trade: it’s global and local, you feel part of how the world works, and there’s huge scope for technology to transform how trade operates,” says Alex. “I also love global geopolitics, so it plays to many things I like.”
As co-founder and CEO, Alex spends his time focused on both driving the vision and culture of the company internally, as well as building up the leadership team and managing the company’s broad investor base. His co-founder Richard Fattal manages most of the strategic
supplier relationships. I ask what his biggest career highlight has been so far, to which he replies: “Not giving up: pushing through challenges and building a resilient team.”
He’s also proud of the way they’ve grown from the knocks. “Failures happen all the time. That’s the nature of start-ups and the key is to learn. I think 2022 was hard for many, as the world seemingly changed overnight, and we had to work hard to adjust, reset and build for the future.”
For Alex, it’s all about adapting to maximise on the opportunities, and overcome the barriers, set to come his way. “I’ve never done the job I’m doing today. And I could have said that six years ago, four years ago, or two years ago. As the business scales, I’m constantly learning and recalibrating.”
I ask where he envisages the biggest opportunities to come from going
forward. “We’re at the beginning of an SCurve that will radically change how trade is done. And it’s likely that will happen over the next five years, driven by both the progress in AI, but also the more basic areas of digitisation within supply chains.This will open a whole new ecosystem that many market participants can’t even imagine. On the other hand, supply chain automation is not a one team job. It relies on huge progress from many actors.That makes it hard, slow, and sometimes frustrating.”
His advice to anyone looking to bring a start-up to fruition sounds basic but is ultimately invaluable. “Set a clear strategy, hire great talent and be clear on the values you want to see… And then reinforce it. Sounds simple, but it’s extremely hard.”
“FAILURES HAPPEN ALL THE TIME. THAT’S THE NATURE OF START-UPS AND THE KEY IS TO LEARN.”
Douglas Jakobi, the ethos behind his digital database of native assets platform thedna.tech is to give objects an identity: a SaaS platform that digitises and archives physical objects via the use of blockchain technology. “It bridges the physical and digital worlds via the creation of native assets (digital passports),” Douglas explains. “With DNA, brands can tokenise their physical products, creating a permanent digital record of them which cannot be tampered with.” In its basic format, they offer a digital passport for high value products, enabling brands to fight counterfeiting and offer a new direct channel to engage customers.
Aco-founder since the company’s inception in November 2021, Douglas is also the COO, responsible for its day-to-day running. But not even two years in, they’ve “barely scratched the surface” in terms of achieving what they set out to do. “DNA is a very ambitious idea, so it will take many years and hard work to get there,” he says.
Having received his undergraduate degree in Economics & History from the University of Virginia in the US, Douglas first ventured into commodities trading for a few years, before setting up a very successful sports merchandise business. I ask what attracted him to tech, too. “I’m fascinated by blockchain technology and have previously invested in cryptocurrencies,” Douglas explains. “My partner and co-founder Adam and I knew each other from the corporate world, and we both experienced the counterfeiting issues faced by players in commodities. We started DNA to solve this problem, beginning with the luxury sector which has been an early adopter of our technology.”
With the global market for counterfeits valued at over a trillion dollars and growing - 60 per cent of which are luxury goodsDouglas spotted a major issue “crying out for a solution”. So, he combined his love of building things and solving problems, to create said solution. I ask where he sees the business over the next five years – and where he thinks the biggest opportunities will come from. “I hope that DNA is the market leading software solution in authentication, and that we have expanded well beyond the luxury sector,” he answers. “I think blockchain has a huge future, but so does AI and Quantum cloud computing, too. The world has never been more connected, and this will only continue as technology advancements are adopted. As a result, counterfeiting challenges faced by brands and consumers globally will amplify.”
A serial entrepreneur, his biggest career highlight to date actually stemmed from
his merchandise business, where he won the NFL Super Bowl contract for merchandising. And when I ask about the lows, he mentions a drinks company that he briefly started, although it failed quickly. “I learnt a huge amount from that experience,” he jokes.
While Douglas will always turn to his father for the best advice – “he is very astute in business and there is no better sounding board” – he would also love to sit down and pick the brains of Marc Rich, who is known as the godfather of commodities and the “King of Oil”. “He had a very sound understanding of global trade and business which is very relevant to any entrepreneur today.” And his advice to anyone wanting to break into the field or navigate the industry in the current climate? “Keep believing in what you are doing and keep your head down!” he says. “The best time to build is in a downturn.”
“KEEP BELIEVING IN WHAT YOU ARE DOING AND KEEP YOUR HEAD DOWN!”
For 27-year-old Daniella Loftus, what started out as a blog during the pandemic, has in two years, become one of the first to sell digital clothes. “This is about more than gaming or social media,” says Daniella. “It’s about investing in future consumers: digital personalities, virtual versions of ourselves. It involves craft, art, and emotion. It’s the future of fashion in a digital world.”
“The growth of This Outfit Does Not Exist was largely spurred by the boom of the digital fashion ecosystem,” she says, “which was in turn accelerated by two things: the ongoing development of the
metaverse and the surge in demand for NFTs.”
Her new start-up DRAUP (pronounced “drop”) is set to launch its first virtual collection this spring, with each subsequent collection to be designed by a different digital artist. While NFT apes were reaching average prices of £86k when they first dropped, exquisitely crafted digital fashion goods (other than trainers), are usually sold for under £1,000. It’s this disparity she wanted to put right – maximising on the market’s infinite potential.
Daniella grew up loving fashion, and always thought she’d end up in the mainstream industry. “I really admired Vivienne Westwood whose businesses had an ethical impact strategy, as opposed to those who just mass-produced clothes.” However, ultimately, she felt her ethos wasn’t aligned with those of the existing fashion world and went her own way.
It’s not always easy to get your head around the realm of augmented reality, especially if you didn’t grow up online.
DANIELLA LOFTUS DRAUP
After studying at NYU, Daniella began her career in the social impact space before moving on to a crypto company that used blockchain to improve lending, and then on to Founders Intelligence. “My eyes were opened to the worlds of emerging technologies,” she says, challenging her way of thinking.
DRAUP is still in its infancy, but Daniella’s foresight so far is astounding – especially in securing her recent funding, as well as a specialist board of advisers that span heavyweights across fashion, tech and crypto – including LVMH. “Women typically only get around 2.4 per cent of venture capitalist funding, and I managed to secure $1.5 million based solely on a white paper, with no product to show.”
The reception in both the fashion and tech worlds has been positive, but she is nervous that people have lost faith in crypto recently. “That just gives me the incentive to be more specialised.”
I ask whom she turns to for advice without an obvious career predecessor. “My father when it comes to business ethics,” she says, along with her CTO. “I’m not an engineer, I can’t look at a piece of code and see that it’s beautiful!”
I ask where she sees the next opportunities and barriers coming from, in a world that develops so rapidly. “We need more platforms where consumers can display their clothes, as you would IRL,” she answers. While gamers spend billions on avatar ‘skins’, they can’t take them between virtual spaces. “We need more platforms for our products to be seen.”
As well as financial, her goal is to make a positive impact on the market. “Being a pioneer is both a good and a bad thing: hopefully we’re not too early!”
“BEING A PIONEER IS BOTH A GOOD AND A BAD THING: HOPEFULLY WE’RE NOT TOO EARLY!”
Having grown to become the largest hybrid lettings player in the UK, working with the majority of large build-to-rent property funds, as well as thousands of private landlords, Asaf says he still has lots to achieve when it comes to changing the rental market for good. “I want to make the world a better place. The housing market hasn’t evolved fast enough in terms of value and customer journeys, impacting the lives of millions, and that’s what we’re here to change.”
Before founding and running Home Made, Asaf began his career flying jets in
Israel, before moving abroad to study for his MBA at INSEAD in France and Singapore, and then moving to London to work in strategy consulting. He then spent six years advising large corporates on strategy before launching Home Made on his own. “I always wanted to start a business that would impact a large number of people in a meaningful way,” he says, “The current model for renting doesn’t work for landlords or tenants, and in many ways is also no longer viable for many traditional agents.”
However, it hasn’t been smooth sailing the entire way. “Running an ambitious company that is here to change a large industry involves many low-points and multiple challenges,” says Asaf. “It’s all about how you cope with them and move on, rather than focusing on the challenge itself. Whether it’s securing seed funding, winning first clients through marketing, recruitment of the right team members, or solving operational issues, each phase brings with it different
Asaf Navot, 41, set up Home Made in 2017 with one clear objective: to fix renting for good. “I wanted to make it better, safer, and fairer for both landlords and tenants,” he explains. “Home Made is leading the next generation of residential lettings, offering an alternative to traditional lettings agencies by delivering better results for a lower fee.”
obstacles. However, winning the UK’s largest property funds against wellestablished companies such as Savills and Foxtons, shows us that we’re doing something right.”
Asaf sees the next big opportunities in the industry as two-fold. “The UK is well behind the US in terms of how rental homes are designed, built, and managed. Renters want great housing solutions in thriving communities, and the current options are limited. The UK BTR owners don’t always make the most of data when contemplating strategic decisions. Renting is – in many ways – just an expensive subscription and the science behind how to best manage subscriptions is too often ignored.” He sees the second biggest gap
in the market within property management services – and says the way it’s currently done is archaic. “Most providers earn from maintenance rather than from trying to solve any issues. The overall experience is poor and customers deserve better.”
Asaf is most likely to turn to his wife for advice as she “balances” his views and always knows how to help him focus on the important aspects of the business. But he also consults with his family and personal network of trusted advisors. “The most important lessons I’ve learned along the way are to move fast and break things, and that a company’s culture is more important than its strategy.”
“THE MOST IMPORTANT LESSONS I’VE LEARNED ALONG THE WAY ARE TO MOVE FAST AND BREAK THINGS, AND THAT A COMPANY’S CULTURE IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN ITS STRATEGY.”
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